Fashion and the The Great Green Washing Machine

I am quite averse to simple statistics and numbers that are used to report on sustainability in our industry. Very often simple claims suggest solutions to very complex problems.

Many brands state that clothes made of organic cotton uses 87-88 percent less water than those made of conventional cotton. The Great Green Washing Machine report states this claim is misleading because it asserts that it is the organic production system that accounts for the difference in water consumption, when in fact it is just rainfall.

the report can be found here:
https://lnkd.in/eTvPxhbu

Another take away
“Current assessments are broadly incorrect for two reasons. Firstly, because measurement is cradle to gate rather than cradle to grave so the harmful outcomes in some garments’ use and disposal are ignored. And secondly, because impacts are calculated per kilo, when what really matters – what is key – is impact per wear.”

New Optimist uses Texloop RCOT cotton yarn from Circular Systems SPC reclaimed from pre-consumer cotton textile waste and upgraded into high quality recycled cotton fiber. From this yarn our friends Tayfun Uslucan and Cengiz Penol at Uslucan knit our wonderful heavy fabrics that last long. All other materials like sewing yarn, labels and cords that New Optimist uses in the Amsterdam atelier are made of organic cotton.

At New Optimist we love to think about every little detail, keeping a holistic vision in mind of how fashion can be social, circular and local.

Xander (Co-Founder New Optimist